cyanobacteria

cyanobacteria

(sī'ənōbăktĭr`ēə, sī-ăn'ō–) or

blue-green algae,

photosynthetic bacteriabacteria[pl. of bacterium], microscopic unicellular prokaryotic organisms characterized by the lack of a membrane-bound nucleus and membrane-bound organelles. Once considered a part of the plant kingdom, bacteria were eventually placed in a separate kingdom, Monera......Click the link for more information. that contain chlorophyll. For many years they were classified in the plant kingdom along with algaealgae[plural of Lat. alga=seaweed], a large and diverse group of primarily aquatic plantlike organisms. These organisms were previously classified as a primitive subkingdom of the plant kingdom, the thallophytes (plants that lack true roots, stems, leaves, and flowers)......Click the link for more information., but discoveries made possible by the electron microscope and new biochemical techniques have shown them to be prokaryotes more similar to bacteria than to plants, and they are now placed in the kingdom MoneraMonera,taxonomic kingdom that comprises the prokaryotes (bacteria and cyanobacteria). Prokaryotes are single-celled organisms that lack a membrane-bound nucleus and usually lack membrane-bound organelles (mitochondria, chloroplasts; see cell, in biology)......Click the link for more information.. Cyanobacteria are familiar to many as a component of pond scum. Despite their name, different species can be red, brown, or yellow; blooms (dense masses on the surface of a body of water) of a red species are said to have given the Red Sea its name. Nitrogen-fixing cyanobacteria need only nitrogen and carbon dioxide to live.

Cyanobacteria

A large and heterogeneous group of photosynthetic microorganisms, formerly referred to as blue-green algae. They had been classified with the algae because their mechanism of photosynthesis is similar to that of algal and plant chloroplasts; however, the cells are prokaryotic, whereas the cells of algae and plants are eukaryotic. The name cyanobacteria is now used to emphasize the similarity in cell structure to other prokaryotic organisms. SeeAlgae, Cell plastids

All cyanobacteria can grow with light as an energy source through oxygen-evolving photosynthesis; carbon dioxide (CO2) is fixed into organic compounds via the Calvin cycle, the same mechanism used in green plants. Thus, all species will grow in the absence of organic nutrients. However, some species will assimilate organic compounds into cell material if light is available, and a few isolates are capable of growth in the dark by using organic compounds as carbon and energy sources. Some cyanobacteria can shift to a different mode of photosynthesis, in which hydrogen sulfide rather than water serves as the electron donor. Molecular oxygen is not evolved during this process, which is similar to that in purple and green photosynthetic sulfur bacteria. The photosynthetic pigments of cyanobacteria include chlorophyll a (also found in algae and plants) and phycobiliproteins. SeeChlorophyll, Photosynthesis

Cyanobacteria are extremely diverse morphologically. Species may be unicellular or filamentous. Both types may aggregate to form macroscopically visible colonies. The cells range in size from those typical of bacteria (0.5–1 micrometer in diameter) to 60 μm.

When examined by electron microscopy, the cells of cyanobacteria appear similar to those of gram-negative bacteria. Many species produce extracellular mucilage or sheaths that promote the aggregation of cells or filaments into colonies.

The photosynthetic machinery is located on internal membrane foldings called thylakoids. Chlorophyll a and the electron transport proteins necessary for photosynthesis are located in these lipid membranes, whereas the water-soluble phycobiliprotein pigments are arranged in particles called phycobilisomes which are attached to the lipid membrane.

Several other types of intracellular structures are found in some cyanobacteria. Gas vesicles, which may confer buoyancy on the organisms, are often found in cyanobacteria that grow in the open waters of lakes. Polyhedral bodies, also known as carboxysomes, contain large amounts of ribulose bisphosphate carboxylase, the key enzyme of CO2 fixation via the Calvin cycle. Several types of storage granules may be found.

Cyanobacteria can be found in a wide variety of fresh-water, marine, and soil environments. They are more tolerant of environmental extremes than are eukaryotic algae. For example, they are the dominant oxygenic phototrophs in hot springs (at temperatures up to 72°C or 176°F) and in hypersaline habitats such as may occur in marine intertidal zones.

Cyanobacteria are often the dominant members of the phytoplankton in fresh-water lakes that have been enriched with inorganic nutrients such as phosphate. It is now known that high population densities of small, single-celled cyanobacteria occur in the oceans, and that these are responsible for 30–50% of the CO2 fixed into organic matter in these environments. About 8% of the lichens involve a cyanobacterium, which can provide both fixed nitrogen and fixed carbon to the fungal partner. SeeLichens, Phytoplankton

Cyanobacteria are thought to be the first oxygen-evolving photosynthetic organisms to develop on the Earth, and hence responsible for the conversion of the Earth's atmosphere from anaerobic to aerobic about 2 billion years ago. This development permitted the evolution of aerobic bacteria, plants, and animals. SeeBacteria, Prebiotic organic synthesis

Cyanobacteria

a term used primarily in the microbiological literature since the 1970’s to denote the cyanophates (blue-green algae). The basis for introducing the term was a number of similarities between the Cyanobacteria and other prokaryotes, namely, bacteria. Both groups have similarities in their genetic structure, ribosomal and photosynthetic apparatus, and cell wall, having common chemical components, such as murein in the cell wall and poly-β-hydroxybutyrate as a reserve, and similar genetic properties.

cyanobacteria

[¦sī·ə·no‚bak′tir·ē·ə]

(microbiology)

A group of one-celled to many-celled aquatic organisms. Also known as blue-green algae.

To better understand the occurrence of HABs and the epidemiology of cyanobacteria HAB-associated illnesses NYSDOH implemented a pilot surveillance system in 2015, applying a One Health approach in a subset of counties overseen by local health departments (LHDs).

Instrument scientist Chris Garvey said SANS was used to measure distances between the membranes of the phycobilisome in a living cyanobacteria, which live in low light conditions and absorb far red light (extreme red in the visible spectrum).

Some species of algae called cyanobacteria produce toxins that can kill wildlife and domestic animals and cause illness in humans through exposure to contaminated freshwater and the consumption of contaminated drinking water, fish, or shellfish.

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